Low-profile ball screw cam elevator mechanism for cold storage data storage device

ABSTRACT

An approach to a reduced-head hard disk drive (HDD) involves an actuator subsystem that includes a ball screw cam assembly wherein the number of starts of a multi-start screw equals the number of balls riding in a corresponding start. A stepper motor may be disposed within the screw, to drive rotation of the screw, which drives translation of an actuator arm assembly so that a corresponding pair of read-write heads can access different magnetic-recording disks of a multiple-disk stack. The actuator subsystem may further include a cam locking mechanism for coupling and decoupling the actuator arm with a coil support structure and corresponding voice coil, so that the cam mechanism is able to move under the control of a voice coil motor when input/output operations are performed and is able to move the actuator arm assembly during translation operations.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/700,777, filed Jul. 19, 2018; to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/700,780, filed Jul. 19, 2018; to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/702,163, filed Jul. 23, 2018; to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/702,154, filed Jul. 23, 2018; and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/747,623, filed Oct. 18, 2018; the entire content of all of which is incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

FIELD OF EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the invention may relate generally to a reduced-head hard disk drive having an actuator elevator mechanism and particularly to approaches having a low-profile ball screw cam actuator elevator mechanism.

BACKGROUND

There is an increasing need for archival storage. Tape is a traditional solution for data back-up, but is very slow to access data. Current archives are increasingly “active” archives, meaning some level of continuing random read data access is required. Traditional hard disk drives (HDDs) can be used but cost may be considered undesirably high. Other approaches considered may include HDDs with extra large diameter disks and HDDs having an extra tall form factor, with both requiring large capital investment due to unique components and assembly processes, low value proposition in the context of cost savings, and barriers to adoption in the marketplace due to uniquely large form factors, for example.

Any approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating a hard disk drive, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view illustrating an actuator subsystem in a reduced-head hard disk drive, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2B is an isolated perspective view illustrating the actuator subsystem of FIG. 2A, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2C is an isolated plan view illustrating the actuator subsystem of FIG. 2A, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view illustrating an actuator elevator assembly, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 4A is an exploded view illustrating a low-profile ball screw cam assembly, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 4B is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a portion of the cam assembly of FIG. 4A, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 4C is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a portion of an alternative cam assembly, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 5A is a perspective view illustrating an actuator-elevator assembly, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 5B is a plan view illustrating the actuator-elevator assembly of FIG. 5A, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 5C is a perspective view illustrating the actuator-elevator assembly of FIG. 5A in a reduced-head data storage device, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 6A is an isolated perspective view illustrating an actuator position sensor and flexible cable assembly, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 6B is a perspective view illustrating the assembly of FIG. 6A assembled with the actuator elevator assembly of FIG. 3, according to an embodiment;

DESCRIPTION

Approaches to a multi-disk hard disk drive having an actuator elevator mechanism are described. In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of the invention described herein. It will be apparent, however, that the embodiments of the invention described herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the embodiments of the invention described herein.

Physical Description of an Illustrative Operating Context

Embodiments may be used in the context of a multi-disk, reduced read-write head, digital data storage device (DSD) such as a hard disk drive (HDD). Thus, in accordance with an embodiment, a plan view illustrating a conventional HDD 100 is shown in FIG. 1 to aid in describing how a conventional HDD typically operates.

FIG. 1 illustrates the functional arrangement of components of the HDD 100 including a slider 110 b that includes a magnetic read-write head 110 a. Collectively, slider 110 b and head 110 a may be referred to as a head slider. The HDD 100 includes at least one head gimbal assembly (HGA) 110 including the head slider, a lead suspension 110 c attached to the head slider typically via a flexure, and a load beam 110 d attached to the lead suspension 110 c. The HDD 100 also includes at least one recording medium 120 rotatably mounted on a spindle 124 and a drive motor (not visible) attached to the spindle 124 for rotating the medium 120. The read-write head 110 a, which may also be referred to as a transducer, includes a write element and a read element for respectively writing and reading information stored on the medium 120 of the HDD 100. The medium 120 or a plurality of disk media may be affixed to the spindle 124 with a disk clamp 128.

The HDD 100 further includes an arm 132 attached to the HGA 110, a carriage 134, a voice-coil motor (VCM) that includes an armature 136 including a voice coil 140 attached to the carriage 134 and a stator 144 including a voice-coil magnet (not visible). The armature 136 of the VCM is attached to the carriage 134 and is configured to move the arm 132 and the HGA 110 to access portions of the medium 120, all collectively mounted on a pivot shaft 148 with an interposed pivot bearing assembly 152. In the case of an HDD having multiple disks, the carriage 134 may be referred to as an “E-block,” or comb, because the carriage is arranged to carry a ganged array of arms that gives it the appearance of a comb.

An assembly comprising a head gimbal assembly (e.g., HGA 110) including a flexure to which the head slider is coupled, an actuator arm (e.g., arm 132) and/or load beam to which the flexure is coupled, and an actuator (e.g., the VCM) to which the actuator arm is coupled, may be collectively referred to as a head stack assembly (HSA). An HSA may, however, include more or fewer components than those described. For example, an HSA may refer to an assembly that further includes electrical interconnection components. Generally, an HSA is the assembly configured to move the head slider to access portions of the medium 120 for read and write operations.

With further reference to FIG. 1, electrical signals (e.g., current to the voice coil 140 of the VCM) comprising a write signal to and a read signal from the head 110 a, are transmitted by a flexible cable assembly (FCA) 156 (or “flex cable”). Interconnection between the flex cable 156 and the head 110 a may include an arm-electronics (AE) module 160, which may have an on-board pre-amplifier for the read signal, as well as other read-channel and write-channel electronic components. The AE module 160 may be attached to the carriage 134 as shown. The flex cable 156 may be coupled to an electrical-connector block 164, which provides electrical communication, in some configurations, through an electrical feed-through provided by an HDD housing 168. The HDD housing 168 (or “enclosure base” or “baseplate” or simply “base”), in conjunction with an HDD cover, provides a semi-sealed (or hermetically sealed, in some configurations) protective enclosure for the information storage components of the HDD 100.

Other electronic components, including a disk controller and servo electronics including a digital-signal processor (DSP), provide electrical signals to the drive motor, the voice coil 140 of the VCM and the head 110 a of the HGA 110. The electrical signal provided to the drive motor enables the drive motor to spin providing a torque to the spindle 124 which is in turn transmitted to the medium 120 that is affixed to the spindle 124. As a result, the medium 120 spins in a direction 172. The spinning medium 120 creates a cushion of air that acts as an air-bearing on which the air-bearing surface (ABS) of the slider 110 b rides so that the slider 110 b flies above the surface of the medium 120 without making contact with a thin magnetic-recording layer in which information is recorded. Similarly in an HDD in which a lighter-than-air gas is utilized, such as helium for a non-limiting example, the spinning medium 120 creates a cushion of gas that acts as a gas or fluid bearing on which the slider 110 b rides.

The electrical signal provided to the voice coil 140 of the VCM enables the head 110 a of the HGA 110 to access a track 176 on which information is recorded. Thus, the armature 136 of the VCM swings through an arc 180, which enables the head 110 a of the HGA 110 to access various tracks on the medium 120. Information is stored on the medium 120 in a plurality of radially nested tracks arranged in sectors on the medium 120, such as sector 184. Correspondingly, each track is composed of a plurality of sectored track portions (or “track sector”) such as sectored track portion 188. Each sectored track portion 188 may include recorded information, and a header containing error correction code information and a servo-burst-signal pattern, such as an ABCD-servo-burst-signal pattern, which is information that identifies the track 176. In accessing the track 176, the read element of the head 110 a of the HGA 110 reads the servo-burst-signal pattern, which provides a position-error-signal (PES) to the servo electronics, which controls the electrical signal provided to the voice coil 140 of the VCM, thereby enabling the head 110 a to follow the track 176. Upon finding the track 176 and identifying a particular sectored track portion 188, the head 110 a either reads information from the track 176 or writes information to the track 176 depending on instructions received by the disk controller from an external agent, for example, a microprocessor of a computer system.

An HDD's electronic architecture comprises numerous electronic components for performing their respective functions for operation of an HDD, such as a hard disk controller (“HDC”), an interface controller, an arm electronics module, a data channel, a motor driver, a servo processor, buffer memory, etc. Two or more of such components may be combined on a single integrated circuit board referred to as a “system on a chip” (“SOC”). Several, if not all, of such electronic components are typically arranged on a printed circuit board that is coupled to the bottom side of an HDD, such as to HDD housing 168.

References herein to a hard disk drive, such as HDD 100 illustrated and described in reference to FIG. 1, may encompass an information storage device that is at times referred to as a “hybrid drive”. A hybrid drive refers generally to a storage device having functionality of both a traditional HDD (see, e.g., HDD 100) combined with solid-state storage device (SSD) using non-volatile memory, such as flash or other solid-state (e.g., integrated circuits) memory, which is electrically erasable and programmable. As operation, management and control of the different types of storage media typically differ, the solid-state portion of a hybrid drive may include its own corresponding controller functionality, which may be integrated into a single controller along with the HDD functionality. A hybrid drive may be architected and configured to operate and to utilize the solid-state portion in a number of ways, such as, for non-limiting examples, by using the solid-state memory as cache memory, for storing frequently-accessed data, for storing I/O intensive data, and the like. Further, a hybrid drive may be architected and configured essentially as two storage devices in a single enclosure, i.e., a traditional HDD and an SSD, with either one or multiple interfaces for host connection.

INTRODUCTION

References herein to “an embodiment”, “one embodiment”, and the like, are intended to mean that the particular feature, structure, or characteristic being described is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. However, instance of such phrases do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment,

The term “substantially” will be understood to describe a feature that is largely or nearly structured, configured, dimensioned, etc., but with which manufacturing tolerances and the like may in practice result in a situation in which the structure, configuration, dimension, etc. is not always or necessarily precisely as stated. For example, describing a structure as “substantially vertical” would assign that term its plain meaning, such that the sidewall is vertical for all practical purposes but may not be precisely at 90 degrees.

While terms such as “optimal”, “optimize”, “minimal”, “minimize”, and the like may not have certain values associated therewith, if such terms are used herein the intent is that one of ordinary skill in the art would understand such terms to include affecting a value, parameter, metric, and the like in a beneficial direction consistent with the totality of this disclosure. For example, describing a value of something as “minimal” does not require that the value actually be equal to some theoretical minimum (e.g., zero), but should be understood in a practical sense in that a corresponding goal would be to move the value in a beneficial direction toward a theoretical minimum.

Recall that there is an increasing need for cost effective “active” archival storage (also referred to as “cold storage”), preferably having a conventional form factor and utilizing many standard components. One approach involves a standard HDD form factor (e.g., a 3.5″ form factor) and largely common HDD architecture, with n disks in one rotating disk stack, but containing fewer than 2n read-write heads, according to embodiments. Such a storage device may utilize an articulation mechanism that can move the heads to mate with the different disk surfaces (for a non-limiting example, only 2 heads but 5+ disks for an air drive or 8+ disks for a He drive), where the primary cost savings may come from eliminating the vast majority of the heads in the drive.

For a cold storage data storage device, a very thin structure (e.g., the read-write head stack assembly, or “HSA”) needs to be moved while keeping perpendicular to the axis on which it is moving. That structure also needs to maintain sufficient stiffness for structural and resonance control. There may be ball screws on the market that may comply with such requirements, but they are taller than the shaft they ride on and are typically considerably expensive.

With other possible approaches, there is a concern that when the actuator arms are unlocked during the time they need to be moved up and down to get to different disks, the interface between the arms and the cam rattles or is relatively loose. This could cause undesirable motion in the suspensions and heads as the arms are raised and lowered. There is also a large range of potential friction between the cam threads, arm threads, and lock nut threads that could over time cause extra wear and bad repeatability in the vertical positioning achieved.

Actuator Subsystem for Reduced-Head Hard Disk Drive

FIG. 2A is a perspective view illustrating an actuator subsystem in a reduced-head hard disk drive (HDD), FIG. 2B is an isolated perspective view illustrating the actuator subsystem of FIG. 2A, and FIG. 2C is an isolated plan view illustrating the actuator subsystem of FIG. 2A, all according to embodiments. FIGS. 2A-2C collectively illustrate an actuator subsystem comprising a low profile ball screw cam assembly 202 (or “cam 202”), which transforms rotary motion into linear motion, with a stepper motor 204 (or “stepping motor”) disposed therein to form an actuator elevator subassembly, which is disposed within the actuator pivot and pivot bearing of the actuator subsystem (e.g., the “pivot cartridge”) and is configured to vertically translate at least one actuator arm 205 (see, e.g., arm 132 of FIG. 1) along with a respective HGA 207 (see, e.g., HGA 110 of FIG. 1). According to an embodiment, the actuator subsystem for a reduced-head HDD consists of two actuator arm 205 assemblies each with a corresponding HGA 207 (e.g., a modified HSA, in which the actuator arm assemblies translate vertically, or elevate, while the VCM coil 209 may be fixed in the vertical direction) housing a corresponding read-write head 207 a (see, e.g., read-write head 110 a of FIG. 1). Generally, the term “reduced-head HDD” is used to refer to an HDD in which the number of read-write heads is less than the number of magnetic-recording disk media surfaces.

With respect to electrical signal transmission, FIGS. 2A-2C further illustrate a flexible cable assembly 208 (“FCA 208”), which is configured to comprise a dynamic vertical “loop” 208 a (“FCA vertical loop 208 a”) for vertical translation of the end(s) that are coupled to the actuator elevator subassembly and/or another portion of the actuator subsystem. This FCA vertical loop 208 a is in addition to a typical dynamic horizontal loop for horizontal translation purposes for when the actuator to which one end is connected is rotating. The actuator subsystem further comprises at least one connector housing 210 for housing an electrical connector for transferring electrical signals (e.g., motor power, sensor signals, etc.) between the actuator elevator subassembly and a ramp elevator assembly (described in more detail elsewhere herein).

With respect to actuator arm locking, FIGS. 2A-2C further illustrate an arm lock subsystem 206, coupled with or constituent to a coil support assembly 212, configured to mechanically interact with an outer diameter crash stop 211 (“ODCS 211”) to lock and unlock the actuator elevator subassembly, as described in more detail elsewhere herein.

Actuator Elevator Assembly

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view illustrating an actuator elevator assembly, according to an embodiment. The actuator elevator assembly 300 illustrated in FIG. 3 is configured for use in an actuator subsystem as illustrated and described in reference to FIGS. 2A-2C, i.e., configured to vertically translate at least one actuator arm 205 (shown here is a portion of the arm 205 that engages with the pivot; see, e.g., FIGS. 2A-2C, 4A-4C) with a respective HGA 207 (FIGS. 2B, 2C) and read-write head 207 a (FIGS. 2B, 2C).

Actuator elevator assembly 300 comprises the actuator elevator subassembly comprising the ball screw cam 202, having the stepper motor 204 coupled to (e.g., with an outer sleeve adhered to the inner surface of the cam 202) and disposed therein and interposed between the cam 202 and a pivot shaft 310, where the pivot shaft 310 bottom is shown positioned within an opening of a bottom support plate 308 b and the pivot shaft 310 top is shown positioned approaching or within an opening of a top support plate 308 a. In a typical HDD configuration, the inner pivot shaft 310 is further coupled to an HDD enclosure base (see, e.g., housing 168 of FIG. 1) via a screw or other fastener and to an HDD cover (not shown) via another screw or fastener, effectively sandwiching the pivot shaft 310 and the actuator elevator assembly 300 more broadly within the corresponding HDD.

Actuator elevator assembly 300 further comprises a first set or pair of HSA pivot bearings 302 (along with upper inner bearing housing 302 a and lower inner bearing housing 302 b) interposed between the pivot shaft 310 and the stepper motor 204 (e.g., one bearing assembly near the top and one bearing assembly near the bottom). HSA pivot bearings 302 function to support loads associated at least in part with the rotation of the actuator arms 205 (FIGS. 2A-2C), along with the stepper motor 204 and the cam 202 to which it is attached, about the stationary pivot shaft 310, such as during actuator seek/read/write/load/unload operations. Actuator elevator assembly 300 further comprises a second set or pair of cam bearings 304 interposed between the stepper motor 204 and the cam 202 (e.g., one bearing assembly near the top and one bearing assembly near the bottom). Cam bearings 304 function to support loads associated at least in part with the rotation of the stepper motor 204 and the cam 202 about the stationary pivot shaft 310 (when the actuator elevator subassembly is decoupled from the HSA pivot inner bearing housing 302 a, 302 b, as described in more detail elsewhere herein with respect to the operation of the arm lock subsystem 206), such as during actuator vertical translation operations.

Actuator elevator assembly 300 further comprises a third set of ball screw bearings comprising balls 202 c and retainer 202 b interposed between a cam screw 202 a (see, e.g., FIGS. 4A-4C) and the actuator arm 205. This ball screw bearing assembly functions to support loads associated at least in part with the rotation of the stepper motor 204 and the cam 202 about the stationary pivot shaft 310 and the consequent actuator vertical translation operations.

Low Profile Ball Screw Cam

According to an embodiment, one approach to an actuator elevator mechanism for a cold storage HDD uses a multi-start threaded shaft (also referred to as a “multi-start ball screw”) with a ball in each start to create a plane perpendicular to the screw/cam. The balls are held equally spaced around the shaft by a bearing retainer. The balls are preloaded to the shaft at all times by compressing the two outer races. This platform is stable and does not rattle or function loosely, thus providing consistent structural integrity.

FIG. 4A is an exploded view illustrating a low-profile ball screw cam assembly, and FIG. 4B is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a portion of the cam assembly of FIG. 4A, according to an embodiment. The illustrated ball screw cam assembly referred to as cam 202 comprises the hollow threaded shaft or screw 202 a, a bearing retainer 202 b or retaining ring with a plurality of equally-spaced retained balls 202 c, a bearing half-race 202 d, an O-ring 202 e, and, optionally, a C-clip 202 f, according to an embodiment. Cam 202 is configured for use in the actuator elevator assembly 300 illustrated in FIG. 3, which is configured for use in the actuator subsystem illustrated and described in reference to FIGS. 2A-2C, i.e., to vertically translate at least one actuator arm 205 with a respective HGA 207 and read-write head 207 a. However, use of a cam mechanism such as cam 202 in implementations outside of such an actuator subsystem (e.g., in a camera, or in other products requiring a miniature cam/translation mechanism) is contemplated, so the use scenarios for cam 202 are not limited to implementations only within such an actuator subsystem.

It is noteworthy that with cam 202, according to an embodiment, the number of starts equals the number of balls, thereby providing a stable planar “platform” with a single bearing assembly and perpendicular to the axis/translation path. According to an embodiment, three balls 202 c are held within the bearing retainer 202 b, thereby providing a 3-point planar bearing assembly while facilitating the low-profile aspect of the cam 202. While three balls are needed to define or construct the plane, the number of balls 202 c may vary from implementation to implementation. While greater than three balls 202 c provides a more stable planar platform (e.g., more contact points about the shaft provides more actuator arm stiffness and stability), a greater number of balls 202 c would also increase the thread pitch and lead corresponding to the screw thread (especially in view of a stepper motor driver), perhaps undesirably in some use scenarios.

With reference to FIG. 4B, one can see that the tapered starts/threads of screw 202 a function as upper and lower portions of an inner race of the bearing assembly of cam 202. According to an embodiment, the outer race of the bearing assembly of cam 202 is a split-race, i.e., a 2-part race (whereby the two outer load surfaces are split among two parts), comprising a tapered inner surface 205 a of the opening in arm 205 as a lower outer race surface, and a tapered lower surface of bearing half-race 202 d as an upper outer race surface, together forming what may be referred to as a v-notch outer race. The bearing assembly is therefore preloaded radially at four points of contact via the inner and outer races, while the O-ring 202 e (e.g., elastomeric) functions as a spring to provide a variable compression force applied to the bearing half-race 202 d, in conjunction with the C-clip 202 f Alternatively to use of an elastomeric O-ring 202 e (e.g., which can degrade and cause creep over time), according to an embodiment a wavy washer, functioning as a metallic spring, may be implemented to provide the compression force to the outer race. Hence, this arrangement functions to manage or compensate for the possibility of slight changes in the diameter of the inner race/threads at various locations along the length of the screw 202 a, such as those associated with part tolerances and manufacturing variability.

Furthermore, one could eliminate use of the C-clip 202 f and reconfigure the outer race, as illustrated in FIG. 4C. FIG. 4C is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a portion of an alternative cam assembly, according to an embodiment. As with the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4B, the tapered starts/threads of screw 202 a function as upper and lower portions of an inner race of the bearing assembly of this embodiment of ball screw cam, cam 203. Here also the outer race of the bearing assembly of cam 203 is a split-race, or 2-part race, comprising a tapered half-race 202 d-1 as a lower outer race surface and a tapered half-race 202 d-2 as an upper outer race surface (bonded to an inner surface of the opening in arm 205 after preloading), together forming what may be referred to as a v-notch outer race. Here also the bearing assembly is therefore preloaded radially at four points of contact via the inner and outer races, while the O-ring 202 e (or wavy washer) functions as a spring to provide a variable compression force applied to the bearing split-race comprising 202 d-1, 201 d-2.

In-Pivot Stepper Motor

In the context of a cold storage HDD that includes a rotary cam (e.g., cam 202) that is rotated with respect to the coil assembly (e.g., VCM coil 209), which would vertically move the actuator arms 205 up and down from disk to disk, a means to provide that rotation is needed. According to an embodiment and with reference to FIGS. 2A-3, a stepper motor 204 is assembled within the pivot (or, the pivot cartridge) of the actuator subsystem (FIGS. 2A-2C), which, in conjunction with the cam 202 (FIGS. 4A-4B), forms an actuator elevator assembly 300 (FIG. 3).

So-called “claw-pole” designs contain an inner permanent magnet (PM) mounted on a rotary lead-screw shaft. In the context of a multi-disk HDD having an actuator elevator mechanism, the actuator subsystem design comprises a stationary shaft during the translation of the head stack assembly (HSA) to switch between magnetic recording disks. With this, a unique design of a claw-pole stepper motor is needed. The smaller magnet volume of a typical claw-pole motor where the stator circumscribes the PM requires a high number of turns (100 or more) with a very small copper wire (e.g. 0.05 mm) due to the physical limitations. Because electromagnetic torque, T_(e)=kD²L, is proportional to the square of the diameter of the magnetic air gap and the stator stack length, it is advantageous to maximize the motor diameter.

However, winding with a smaller wire diameter is difficult due to its fragility and is more susceptible to the fluctuation of the winding tension that causes wider distribution of the winding resistance. A high number of turns with a small diameter wire results in a higher copper loss, P_(copper loss)=i²R, and subsequent heat that may adversely affect the internal environment of the HDD in terms of the dynamic read-write head gap due to potential ball-bearing oil migration. Thus, in the confined space of the cold storage data storage device rotary cam, it is preferable to implement a compact stepper motor to rotate the cam in order to move the HSA bi-directionally in the vertical direction to access different disks in the stack.

A claw-pole motor such as stepper motor 204 comprises, for example, two uni-filar windings in injection-molded-plastic spools for bipolar control and four claw-pole stators made from cold-rolled steel sheet metal, electrical steel sheet metal, SMC (Soft Magnetic Composite), and the like, where use of electrical steel with various levels of silicon content or SMC reduces the eddy current loss. Furthermore, use of SMC can produce a complex geometry through powder metallurgy, unlike stamped and formed electrical steel sheet. Each stator contains p/2 teeth (p=number of poles), e.g., 5 teeth per claw-pole stator according to an embodiment of stepper motor 204 having a 10-pole PM. The step angle of a stepper motor depends on the number of poles and stator teeth. In a design having 10 poles and 20 teeth, suitable for the intended purpose, the step angle/rotation is 18° or 20 steps/revolution in a full-step control, with both stator assemblies having a pair of claw-pole stators shifted relative to the other by one-half pole width, and where the step angle is inversely proportional to the number of stator teeth. Likewise, a design with 100 teeth yields 360°/100 or 3.6°/step angle, for example. In the case of 4 start-threaded rotary cam, this 3.6° step angle would provide 4 mm/100 steps or 0.04 mm step resolution rather than 4 mm/20 steps or 0.2 mm step resolution, thus providing a more precise and accurate servo control for positioning the HSA between the disks. Stated otherwise, a higher number of the claw (stator) teeth provides for a smaller step resolution. However, the outer diameter (OD) of the system (e.g., cam 202) limits the possible number of claw teeth. That is, with a given OD there is a practical limit to the number of teeth implemented because adding more teeth reduces their size and leads to manufacturing difficulty, magnetic saturation, and unstable tooth structures. For example, with an 18 mm OD, the system could be limited to 40 teeth and a step angle of 360°/40 or 9°. To get a higher step resolution, a micro-step may be used, where a typical bi-polar driver provides ½, ¼, ⅛, 1/16, and 1/32 micro-steps.

A corresponding rotor of stepper motor 204 comprises a PM (e.g. Nd—Fe—B) attached to the inner diameter of the cam 202 (see, e.g., FIG. 3), which, according to an embodiment, is constructed of ferritic stainless steel, and where the PM comprises 10 hetero-polar magnets. Hence, when the coils are energized the teeth become north and south poles, and mutual torque is established when the north PM poles align with the south claw poles and the south PM poles align with the north claw poles. Reversing the current polarity in the stator coils reverses the polarity of the electromagnetic claw poles and the resultant torque advances the rotor one full step.

Note that the number of coils and corresponding claw-pole stator pairs (i.e., phases), and the number of corresponding teeth on each claw-pole stator, may vary from implementation to implementation based on specific design goals (e.g., torque, phases and rotational degrees/step or steps/revolution) and, therefore, are not limited by the number described in the foregoing example. For example, with a 2-inch form-factor HDD, a four-coil design is feasible, which equates to 9° step angle, i.e., 360°/(number of teeth per claw)*(number of claws)=360°/(5*8)=9°/step. Alternatively, the step angle can be computed from the corresponding number of rotor poles and phases, i.e., 360°/(2 phases*20 rotor poles)=9°/step.

With reference back to FIG. 3, stepper motor 204 comprises a circular “phase A” coil 320 a (with or without corresponding bobbin) enveloped by a pair of corresponding circular and mating claw-poles stators 321 a, a circular “phase B” coil 320 b (with or without corresponding bobbin) enveloped by a pair of corresponding circular and mating claw-pole stators 321 b, disposed within a circular permanent magnet 322 (“PM 322”), all positioned around the stationary shaft 310. Note that when the HSA moves (e.g., actuator arm 205 seeks), the cam 202 and the HSA pivot bearing 302 upper and lower housing 302 a, 302 b move synchronously and thus eliminate the differential reluctance or cogging torque that must be overcome in the rotary motion of the HSA.

According to an embodiment, it is noteworthy that in-pivot stepper motor 204 is configured with an outer rotor and inner stators. That is, in contrast with typical stepper motors, here the PM 322 is on the outside of the stepper motor 204 assembly and the claw-poles 321 a, 321 b and coils 320 a, 320 b are on the inside of the PM 322. Likewise, while a conventional stepper motor typically rotates a central shaft, here the shaft 310 is fixed/stationary and the PM 322 rotor is bonded to the inner diameter of the cam shaft or screw 202 a such that the stepper motor 204 rotates the outer cam 202 about the fixed inner shaft 310. In that sense, this embodiment of stepper motor 204 is akin to a conventional stepper motor that is “turned inside-out”.

Method of Assembling an Actuator Elevator Subassembly

A method of assembling an actuator elevator subassembly, according to an embodiment, is as follows. The described method may be used to assemble an assembly comprising the cam 202 and a 10-pole stepper motor such as in-pivot stepper motor 204, for example. However, as described elsewhere herein, the number of poles may vary from implementation to implementation and therefore, is not so limited.

First, insert the upper HSA pivot bearing 302 into the upper inner bearing housing 302 a and bond (e.g., glue) the outer race of the upper HSA pivot bearing 302 to the upper inner bearing housing 302 a. Next, insert the upper cam bearing 304 around the inner bearing housing 302 a and bond the inner race of the upper cam bearing 304 to the upper inner bearing housing 302 a. Once these bearings 302, 304 are assembled, the method moves on to the stepper motor 204, as follows.

Insert around, orient, and bond a claw-pole stator 321 a (a first half of a first pair) to an outer sleeve portion of the upper inner bearing housing 302 a. Next, insert within and bond a first coil 320 a to the first claw-pole stator 321 a of the first pair. Next, rotate a claw-pole stator 321 a (the second half of the first pair) 36° relative to the first claw-pole stator 321 a of the first pair and bond the second half of the claw-pole stator 321 a to the outer sleeve portion of the upper inner bearing housing 302 a. Next, rotate a claw-pole stator 321 b (a first half of a second pair) 18° relative to the second claw-pole stator 321 a of the first pair and bond the first half of the claw-pole stator 321 b of the second pair to the outer sleeve portion of the upper inner bearing housing 302 a. Next, insert around and bond a second coil 320 b to the upper inner bearing housing 302 a. Next, rotate a claw-pole stator 321 b (the second half of the second pair) 36° relative to the first claw-pole stator 321 b of the second pair and bond the second half of the claw-pole stator 321 b to the outer sleeve portion of the upper inner bearing housing 302 a. Insert a magnetized PM 322 (magnetized to produce 10 pole, or 5 pole-pairs) and bond the outer diameter surface of the PM 322 to in the inner diameter surface of the screw 202 a. Once the stepper motor is assembled as above, the method moves on to the lower bearings, as follows.

Insert the lower HSA pivot bearing 302 into the lower inner bearing housing 302 b and bond the outer race of the lower HSA pivot bearing 302 to the lower inner bearing housing 302 b. Next, insert the lower cam bearing 304 around the lower inner bearing housing 302 b and bond the inner race of the lower cam bearing 304 to the lower inner bearing housing 302 b. Next, bond the outer race of the lower cam bearing 304, now in assembly form with the lower HSA pivot bearing 302 and the lower inner bearing housing 302 b, into the screw 202 a subassembly. Next, apply bonding adhesive completely around the outer diameter periphery of the upper inner bearing housing 302 a, and apply bonding adhesive to the outer race of the upper cam bearing 304, and insert this subassembly into the screw 202 a subassembly. Next, apply an adhesive bead to the lower inner bearing housing 302 b and insert that lower bearing assembly into the screw 202 a subassembly and the upper bearing subassembly. Finally, heat-cure the thermoset adhesive by placement of the assembly in an oven, for example.

Locking/Unlocking Mechanism for Vertically Translatable Actuator Assembly

FIG. 5A is a perspective view illustrating an actuator-elevator assembly, FIG. 5B is a plan view illustrating the actuator-elevator assembly of FIG. 5A, and FIG. 5C is a perspective view illustrating the actuator-elevator assembly of FIG. 5A in a reduced-head data storage device, all according to an embodiment. According to an embodiment and with reference to FIGS. 2A-4B, the locking/unlocking mechanism is constituent to the actuator subsystem (FIGS. 2A-2C) and which operates to vertically lock the actuator arm in place during seek/read/write operations, for example, and to unlock the actuator arm for vertical translation under the control of the cam 202 (FIGS. 4A-4B) and the stepper motor 204 (FIGS. 2A-3) constituent to the actuator elevator assembly 300 (FIG. 3).

FIGS. 5A-5C collectively illustrate a locking/unlocking mechanism previously-introduced as arm lock subsystem 206 (hereinafter, “locking mechanism 206”), located in the general area labeled as B-B in FIG. 5A. Locking mechanism 206 comprises a tab 206 d extending from actuator arm 205 into a slot 206 e within the structure of coil support assembly 212, whereby the tab 206 d is squeezed, held, locked within the slot 206 e when in a cam locked position and is released, unlocked from the compression of the slot 206 e and therefore free to travel in the vertical direction when in a cam unlocked position. According to an embodiment, the tab 206 d and/or the clamping surfaces of the slot 206 e are coated with a low-wear, high-coefficient of friction (COF) material to provide for strong clamping while inhibiting the undesirable particle generation within the drive. Locking mechanism 206 further comprises a spring mechanism 206 b disposed within a slit 206 c within the coil support assembly 212, wherein the slit 206 c intersects the slot 206 e. According to an embodiment, the spring mechanism 206 b is a sheet-like piece of material that is relatively thin, and long in the vertical direction in comparison with its width positioned coincident within the slit 206 c. The spring mechanism 206 b is rigid enough and configured/positioned within the slit 206 c spanning across the slot 206 e such that the force produced by the spring mechanism 206 b, in a locked or default position (i.e., slightly bent along a vertical axis to elicit a spring-like force), compresses each side of the slot 206 e toward each other to squeeze and hold the tab 206 d in a fixed position within the slot 206 e.

The cam is unlocked when the force associated with the spring mechanism 206 b is overcome, thereby opening wider the slot 206 e, such that the tab 206 d is released from the hold of the slot 206 e and thereby enabled to travel vertically within the slot 206 e so that the actuator arm 205 from which the tab 206 d extends can be vertically translated by the actuator elevator assembly 300. The force of spring mechanism 206 b is overcome when a lock arm 206 a, which is part of or constituent to the coil support assembly 212, and which is part of or extension of one side of the slot 206 e, mechanically interacts with the previously-introduced ODCS 211, according to an embodiment. Alternatively, interaction with a mechanical element, feature, or structure other than a crash stop could be used to overcome the holding force of the spring mechanism 206 b. As such, when the actuator arm 205 is driven/rotated far enough past the outer diameter of the disk stack, the lock arm 206 a “crashes” into the ODCS 211, which causes the lock arm 206 a to rotate (e.g., counter-clockwise) which then functions to open the gap corresponding to slot 206 e (e.g., similarly to how a clothes-pin functions).

Flexible Cable Assembly with Vertical Loop

FIG. 6A is an isolated perspective view illustrating an actuator position sensor and flexible cable assembly, and FIG. 6B is a perspective view illustrating the assembly of FIG. 6A assembled with the actuator elevator assembly of FIG. 3, both according to an embodiment. According to an embodiment and with reference to FIGS. 2A-5C, the illustrated actuator position sensor and flexible cable assembly are constituent to the actuator subsystem (FIGS. 2A-2C), which provides for vertical translation of the actuator arm 205 under the control of the cam 202 (FIGS. 4A-4B) and the stepper motor 204 (FIGS. 2A-3) constituent to the actuator elevator assembly 300 (FIG. 3).

Conventional HDDs typically include a flexible cable assembly (FCA) such as FCA 156 of FIG. 1, which require some slack in the horizontal direction (e.g., XY direction) to allow for the distance between its connection points to vary in the horizontal direction in response to actuator rotation, as one connection point is with part of the actuator arm. However, an FCA cable for a rotating and vertically translating actuator connects to an actuator that not only moves in the XY plane for seeking data on the disk, but also moves in the Z direction to move among the disks in the multi-disk stack. Thus, a complete flex may be designed as either a one part solution or designed as two different parts combined together, with the use of a connector to carry electrical signals. With an actuator that is configured to move vertically, such as in the context of the actuator subsystem described in reference to of FIGS. 2A-5C, according to an embodiment the FCA 208 (see, e.g., FIGS. 2A-2C, not shown here), which moves in the XY direction such as during seeking, further comprises or is electronically coupled or spliced with a dynamic vertical loop portion of FCA, referred to as FCA vertical loop 208 a, which moves effectively independently of the FCA 208 portion such as when the actuator is vertically translating. Functionally similar to the FCA 156, the FCA vertical loop 208 a provides some slack in the Z direction to allow for the distance between its connection points to vary in the vertical direction in response to actuator vertical translation, as one connection point is with part of the actuator arm 205. Both the horizontal loop of FCA 208 and the FCA vertical loop 208 a are configured to move independently of the other.

Note that the configuration and shape of the FCA vertical loop 208 a may vary from implementation to implementation. According to an embodiment, a “U-loop” configuration is implemented for FCA vertical loop 208 a (the loop generally resembles a letter “U” in various not-fully-extended states), as depicted in FIGS. 6A-6B. However, other shaped vertical loops may be designed and implemented for use in this context, such as a C-loop shape that resembles the letter “C” when not fully extended and an S-loop shape that resembles the letter “S” when not fully extended, and the like. In the configuration depicted, the FCA vertical loop 208 a is positioned near a preamp 606 and whereby the XY loop of FCA 208 electrically connects the FCA vertical loop 208 a to a bracket and/or a connector housing 210 (see, e.g., FIGS. 2A-2C).

Further illustrated in FIGS. 6A-6B is a pair of proximity or position sensors 602 coupled to the actuator arm 205 and configured to sense the Z position of the actuator arm 205 (e.g., vertical height) relative to a magnetic encoding strip and, ultimately, relative to the disk stack. According to an embodiment, one or more Hall effect sensors mounted in a quadrature configuration are implemented for the position sensor(s) 602, which function in coordination with a closely-positioned magnetic encoding strip 604, mounted on a stiffener 605, to provide sine and cosine signals for sensing the directions and crossing of the waveforms. The stiffener 605 may further function for positioning of the FCA 208 and FCA vertical loop 208 a.

Generally, magnetic flux density in the air gap between the Hall sensors and the permanent magnet scale (i.e., magnetic encoding strip 604) should be set at an optimum gap range to provide adequate signal strength. A narrow gap causes signal saturation and a wide gap weakens the signal. In either case, detection of the zero-crossing points is uncertain. However, the quadrature configuration of the Hall sensors in conjunction with a 1 mm pole-pitch magnetic scale provides displacement and direction simultaneous by virtue of the leading and lagging nature of the waveforms in the upward and downward translations. For example, one Hall sensor signal leads when the stepper motor moves downward, and another Hall sensor signal leads when the stepper motor moves upward. A leading Hall sensor signal indicates the translational direction and the zero-crossing points of the sine-cosine waveforms provide the amount of the displacement.

Extensions and Alternatives

In the foregoing description, embodiments of the invention have been described with reference to numerous specific details that may vary from implementation to implementation. Therefore, various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the embodiments. Thus, the sole and exclusive indicator of what is the invention, and is intended by the applicants to be the invention, is the set of claims that issue from this application, in the specific form in which such claims issue, including any subsequent correction. Any definitions expressly set forth herein for terms contained in such claims shall govern the meaning of such terms as used in the claims. Hence, no limitation, element, property, feature, advantage or attribute that is not expressly recited in a claim should limit the scope of such claim in any way. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

In addition, in this description certain process steps may be set forth in a particular order, and alphabetic and alphanumeric labels may be used to identify certain steps. Unless specifically stated in the description, embodiments are not necessarily limited to any particular order of carrying out such steps. In particular, the labels are used merely for convenient identification of steps, and are not intended to specify or require a particular order of carrying out such steps. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An actuator system for a reduced-head hard disk drive (HDD), the system comprising: a ball screw cam assembly comprising: a hollow screw comprising a particular number of starts encircling the screw, a ball bearing assembly comprising the particular number of balls, wherein each ball rides in a corresponding start; and an actuator arm coupled with the ball bearing assembly; wherein the actuator arm translates along an axis of the screw upon rotation of the screw.
 2. The actuator system of claim 1, further comprising: a stepper motor disposed within and coupled with the screw; and wherein the stepper motor drives the rotation of the screw.
 3. The actuator system of claim 2, wherein the cam assembly and the disposed stepper motor are positioned in a pivot cartridge of the HDD.
 4. The actuator system of claim 2, wherein the stepper motor comprises a multi-phase claw-pole stepper motor.
 5. A hard disk drive comprising the actuator system of claim
 2. 6. The actuator system of claim 1, further comprising: a voice coil configured to rotate the actuator arm, with which a read-write head slider is coupled, to move the head slider to access portions of a plurality of disk media; a coil support structure to which the voice coil is fixedly coupled; and a cam locking mechanism configured to couple the cam assembly with the coil support structure and decouple the cam assembly from the coil support structure; wherein the cam assembly and the actuator arm rotate with the coil support structure when coupled therewith via the cam locking mechanism.
 7. The actuator system of claim 1, further comprising: a voice coil configured to rotate the actuator arm, with which a read-write head slider is coupled, to move the head slider to access portions of a plurality of disk media; a coil support structure to which the voice coil is fixedly coupled; and a cam locking mechanism configured to couple the cam assembly with the coil support structure and to decouple the cam assembly from the coil support structure; wherein the cam assembly and actuator arm are decoupled from the coil support structure via the cam locking mechanism when the actuator arm translates upon rotation of the screw.
 8. The actuator system of claim 1, further comprising: a cam locking mechanism configured to couple the actuator arm with a coil support structure, to which a voice coil is fixedly coupled, and to decouple the actuator arm from the coil support structure, the cam locking mechanism comprising: a tab extending from the actuator arm and positioned within a vertical gap formed in the coil support structure, a vertical slit in the coil support structure configured to intersect the gap in the coil support structure, and a compression spring mechanism, housed in the slit of the coil support structure, which applies a compression force to inner and outer portions of the coil support structure on each side of the gap, wherein the compression force is such that the tab is held within the gap such that the actuator arm is coupled with the coil support structure.
 9. The actuator system of claim 8, wherein the cam locking mechanism further comprises: a rotatable lock arm coupled with the coil support structure, comprising the outer portion of the coil support structure; and an outer diameter crash stop; wherein, in response to the actuator arm and coil support structure being driven to rotate such that the lock arm comes into contact with the crash stop, the compression force is overcome and the lock arm rotates such that the gap is widened and the tab is free to translate vertically within the gap.
 10. A hard disk drive comprising the actuator system of claim
 8. 11. The actuator system of claim 1, wherein the particular number of starts and the particular number of balls of the cam assembly is three or greater, thereby forming a plane on which the balls ride perpendicular to the axis of the screw.
 12. The actuator system of claim 1, wherein the ball screw cam assembly further comprises: a retaining ring configured to hold the particular number of balls in equal spacing, in a respective start of the particular number of starts, about an outer periphery of the screw.
 13. The actuator system of claim 12, wherein the ball screw cam assembly further comprises a bearing race ring that forms a first portion of an outer split-race with a surface of the actuator arm that forms a second portion of the outer split-race; wherein the cam assembly is configured such that four points of contact are established with each of the balls, including contact with the first and the second portions of the outer split-race and contact with an upper portion and a lower portion of the respective start in which each ball rides.
 14. A hard disk drive comprising the actuator system of claim
 13. 15. The actuator system of claim 13, wherein the ball screw cam assembly further comprises: an O-ring positioned in contact with the first portion of the outer split-race such that the O-ring applies a compression force to the first portion of the outer split-race.
 16. A hard disk drive comprising the actuator system of claim
 1. 17. A cam assembly comprising: a threaded screw comprising a particular number of starts encircling the screw, a ball bearing assembly comprising the particular number of balls, wherein each ball rides in a corresponding start; and a translating part coupled with the ball bearing assembly; wherein the translating part translates along an axis of the screw upon rotation of the screw.
 18. The cam assembly of claim 17, wherein the particular number of starts and the particular number of balls is three or greater, thereby forming a plane on which the balls ride perpendicular to the axis of the screw.
 19. The cam assembly of claim 17, further comprising: a retaining ring configured to hold the particular number of balls in equal spacing, in a respective start of the particular number of starts, about an outer periphery of the screw.
 20. The cam assembly of claim 17, further comprising: a bearing race ring that forms a first portion of an outer split-race with a surface of the translating part that forms a second portion of the outer split-race; wherein the cam assembly is configured such that four points of contact are established with each of the balls, including contact with the first and the second portions of the outer split-race and contact with an upper portion and a lower portion of the respective start in which each ball rides.
 21. The cam assembly of claim 20, further comprising: an elastomeric O-ring positioned in contact with the first portion of the outer split-race such that the O-ring applies a compression force to the first portion of the outer split-race.
 22. A reduced-head hard disk drive (HDD), comprising: recording means for storing digital information; reading/writing means for reading from and writing to the recording means; means for moving the reading/writing means to access portions of the recording means; means for translating the reading/writing means from one recording means to another recording means; and means for locking the means for translating while the means for moving is operating and unlocking the means for translating while the means for moving is not operating.
 23. An actuator system for a reduced-head hard disk drive (HDD), the system comprising: a ball screw cam assembly comprising: a hollow screw comprising a particular number of starts, a ball bearing assembly comprising the particular number of balls, wherein each ball rides in a corresponding start; an actuator arm coupled with the ball bearing assembly; a voice coil configured to rotate the actuator arm, with which a read-write head slider is coupled, to move the head slider to access portions of a plurality of disk media; a coil support structure to which the voice coil is fixedly coupled; and a cam locking mechanism configured to couple the cam assembly with the coil support structure and decouple the cam assembly from the coil support structure; wherein: the actuator arm translates along an axis of the screw upon rotation of the screw; and the cam assembly and the actuator arm rotate with the coil support structure when coupled therewith via the cam locking mechanism.
 24. The actuator system of claim 23, wherein the cam assembly and actuator arm are decoupled from the coil support structure via the cam locking mechanism when the actuator arm translates upon rotation of the screw. 